During the special Red White and Blues event held Tuesday night in the East Room of the White House, Barack Obama belted out the chorus of “Sweet Home Chicago.” Give a microphone to the president of the United States these days and songs, rather than speeches, will be all that come out of his mouth! After crooning soul songs by Al Green, Obama had a repeat performance on Tuesday, but this time he was urged by Mick Jagger and B.B. King to sing Robert Johnson’s blues.
Barack Obama might not have had the moves like Jagger yet, but the President still sang with him, or perhaps because of him. With B.B. King’s help, the Rolling Stones’ lead singer, who was devilishly swaying his hips at that event, talked Obama into taking over the microphone and singing the chorus of bluesman Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago.” Choosing a song that celebrates Illinois, his former political fiefdom, seemed obvious for the candidate-president.
Obama did not initially go up on stage, where a cluster of celebrities had already gathered. As the potentially outgoing president explained, the evening was organized to entertain the Obama family. Obama said that, as the president: “Some nights when you want to go out and just take a walk, clear your head, or jump into a car and take a drive, you can’t do it…. And that’s frustrating. But then there are nights when B.B. King and Mick Jagger come over to your house to play for a concert. So I guess that evens things out a little bit.”
His musical moment fits the strategy that the president’s team has deployed for the past few weeks: showing Obama as the “cool” candidate while the Republicans publicly make mincemeat of each other while choosing a candidate to oppose him. Indeed, this is Obama’s second musical appearance in a month. In New York City on Jan. 19, Obama crooned soul singer Al Green’s hit song, “Let’s Stay Together,” at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Wait, there is more! Obama’s team recently made their official campaign playlist public, though without revealing which tracks the president picked himself. Obama has also been singing Lady Gaga (although without his knowledge), as clever Internet users have created a video montage of the president singing “Born This Way.”
More recent songs can also be found on the baracksdubs YouTube channel. Other Internet users have made Obama sing David Bowie’s “Change.”
But let’s go back to the White House, where Obama has previously invited other famous singers. In June 2010, Paul McCartney urged the President get on stage next to Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Jack White, Faith Hill, Corinne Bailey Rae, Herbie Hancock and even Elvis Costello. They all sang “Hey Jude” together. However, the former member of the Beatles had not had the same presence of mind as Mick Jagger and had not thought of handing the microphone to Obama. What a shame!
A Cool Event…with a Message
Tuesday evening was meant to seduce the American people and to pass on a message. As the president said, “I’m proud to have these artists here not just as a fan, but also as the president, because their music teaches us that when we find ourselves at a crossroads, we don’t shy away from our problems…We face up to them. We sing about them.”
According to the president, who is leading a country stricken by a serious economic crisis, blues “reminds us that we have been through tougher times.” This speech also reminds us of a polemical Chrysler advertisement that ran during the Superbowl. The Republicans suspect the commercial, starring Clint Eastwood, of being secretly intended to defend the Democrats’ political plans.
In that commercial, Clint Eastwood mentioned a “second half-time” when America makes a comeback. However, the Hollywood star forgot to mention that it would happen in music. So, which song will Obama sing next? Will it be a country song from the genre that dominates the president’s play list on Spotify.com?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.